It was a catalyst for change in the Humboldt area, and it's become a success story the Government of Canada wants to share.
It was back in 2004 that Action Humboldt, a grassroots movement for economic development in this region, started its work.
With some funding from the Rural Secretariat, a division of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, and the help of the Estey Centre for Law and Economics in International Trade out of Saskatoon, a group of entrepreneurs, businesspeople and interested community members got together and created what was eventually called Action Humboldt.
The group put together a vision for the future of this region, identified issues that needed to be addressed, and set goals for the future.
Along the way, members of the community received training in facilitation and put that skill to use to see the goals set be achieved.
Their vision stated: "By 2009, Humboldt and region is a growing thriving hub in Saskatchewan. New families are moving in and business is expanding. Quality education and business opportunities are valued and available. This region's success is used as an economic development model for Western Canada."
All that has been achieved, and Humboldt is now being used as an example of success by the Rural Secretariat.
Two representatives of the Rural Secretariat were in Humboldt in November, interviewing past Action Humboldt leaders, the mayor, and representatives of the Estey Centre in order to create a video to show to other communities, so they can perhaps follow in Humboldt's footsteps.
"It's eight years later, and time for a follow-up," said Stephanie Clifford, a communications advisor with Agriculture and Agri-Foods Canada who visited Humboldt to do the interviews.
The interviews were meant to see "what Humboldt is up to today as a result of some of the things that were put into place."
The video will be posted to their website, Clifford noted. They hope to have it up before March 31.
Clifford was impressed by what she saw in Humboldt today.
"There is so much passion in your community," she told the Journal "I wish I could bottle it and spread it around. You can't duplicate that kind of enthusiasm and dedication. They created their own success.... that's part of the reason we wanted to tell their story."
Though the enthusiasm found in Humboldt may be hard to recreate in other places, the process they followed is something that can be duplicated, Clifford noted.
What the Estey Centre did in Humboldt follows the old adage: "Give a man a fish, he'll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, he'll eat forever," Clifford indicated.
The Estey Centre taught those involved with Action Humboldt how to look at their own area, see their strengths and weaknesses, and determine their own course for the future.
That proved to be a successful course of action.
The Journal caught up with Wayne Robinson of the Estey Centre, one of the representatives who was involved with Action Humboldt.
"Action Humboldt was really a special group," Robinson said.
The Estey Centre uses the model that they created with Action Humboldt to deliver the same type of programming around the world. And they call it the Humboldt Model.
The "magic factors" in this model are a combination of two things, Robinson said - strong motivation from the private sector, and support of local government and politicians.
Getting the community at large to decide what their strategic advantages were is another thing that has made it successful, Robinson indicated.
The boom hit Humboldt in about 2007, just as Action Humboldt was wrapping up its activities. Action Humboldt may not have created the boom, Robinson said, but because the region had a plan, they were able to move more quickly when the boom hit.
"I don't think Action Humboldt can point to any individual thing and say they're responsible for it," Robinson said. "But because of Action Humboldt, the community and the region were able to capitalize on opportunities much more quickly."
Michelle Bankowski and David Gullacher, the two co-chairs of Action Humboldt, agree with that assessment.
When Action Humboldt began, the economy locally was nearly dormant.
"The whole community... was not moving forward. We (at Action Humboldt) talked about being a catalyst," Gullacher said.
And that's what they ended up being.
For instance, Action Humboldt helped everyone recognize the fact that there is a lot of opportunity in this region, Bankowski said, and that if we all work together and partner up more, we can get a lot more done.
"The Action Humboldt movement was a catalyst to a change in attitude," Bankowski said. "(It helped create) more openness towards progress and change."
When Action Humboldt came together, everyone was talking about the demise of rural Saskatchewan, Bankowski pointed out. But it wasn't long before Saskatchewan started booming, including its rural centres, like the Humboldt region.
Looking back, "Thank goodness it was there when it was," Bankowski noted. "We were far better positioned to take advantage and meet the challenges of growth."
One of the first discoveries they made as a group, she added, was that we were not short of jobs in this region. We were short of people.
"That was one of our first 'a-ha!' moments," Bankowski noted.
That set them in the direction of not looking for more jobs, but attracting more people for all levels of the labour force.
Action Humboldt became a think-tank, Bankowski believes - a grassroots movement that was free of red tape, so they were allowed to move very quickly and candidly on issues.
Since the days of Action Humboldt, the population of City of Humboldt alone has grown by an estimated 1,000 residents.
The community has also gotten younger, with more young families moving back here. That, Gullacher believes, stems from the decision made by Action Humboldt to focus on drawing young adults back to the area, rather than trying to hold youth here once they graduate high school.
That has helped the economy and brought more youth-related projects to the fore.
The region has put together a very strong Chamber of Commerce, and "we have enjoyed a very strong city council, who are very active, very progressive, and aggressive in some manners," Bankowski said.
Caleb Village, a seniors assisted-living facility which opened early this year, is an example of the city going after and getting something that came up in an Action Humboldt brainstorming session, she noted.
A rally in late 2004, organized by Action Humboldt, turned up the heat on the government, Bankowski said, and helped bring about, eventually, a new hospital, which also opened earlier in 2011.
The work of Action Humboldt started to create a positive attitude toward businesses like Canadian Tire and Tim Hortons coming to Humboldt, she said, and she believes is behind the city being better organized and ready to meet the demands for residential lots.
Another great advantage Action Humboldt gave the region, she believes, is a sense of togetherness.
"The recognition that we're in it together, and how important the region is," Bankowski said. "There was a lot of good interaction between the smaller communities and the district."
Because of some of the training people received through Action Humboldt, members of the group took on lobbying the government for other reasons.
"It gave us the tools to get ourselves organized and meet some of the challenges like (fixing) Hwy. 368 (to St. Brieux)," she said.
Those facilitators Action Humboldt produced are still using those skills.
"You can still see the strength of the training in the community today," Gullacher said.
Bankowski was happy that the Rural Secretariat was looking at the group and all they accomplished.
"We're sort of the golden children. We were extremely hard working, and there is a continued benefit from this approach," she said as to why she believes the Rural Secretariat singled Humboldt out for attention.
"They want to be able to share our success and the things that worked for us with other communities looking to grow and development," said Mayor Malcolm Eaton in his interview with the Journal, when explaining why the Rural Secretariat was interested in Humboldt.
When Action Humboldt first began, people here looked to a lot of other towns and cities for guidance, he noted. And now, Humboldt is going to provide an example for some other places.
There were two things the Rural Secretariat wanted to talk about, he said - what growth and development has happened in Humboldt in recent years, and how that could be traced back to Action Humboldt.
"I think the Action Humboldt process created some interest, energy and enthusiasm. It got people talking about economic development.... and how we can embrace that.... and (it) got people talking to each other."
It was really about empowering the community to act on its own behalf, he agreed.
"It helped us look beyond Humboldt. We became more interested in what is going on in the region," he said.
The recent campaign by the Humboldt District Hospital Foundation to raise funds for the new Humboldt District Health Complex is an example of that coming to life, as it was the region as a whole who raised the necessary $1.8 million, not just the City of Humboldt.
The strong Chamber of Commerce, community groups and organizations have helped put Humboldt on the map, he noted, in addition to what's been happening in economic development.
The Prairie Innovation Enterprise Region (PIER), which took over the Regional Economic Development Authorities, has proven to be a strong presence, as well, he said, and has helped bring the region together.
"That's led us to be more proactive and more assertive in how we promote the community," he said. "Action Humboldt brought people together and got us talking... so we're more proactive, more out there now."
A momentum was created, he said, that the city, community groups and organizations all contributed to and are now benefiting from.
The City has been more proactive, he noted, in talking with companies and corporations looking at Humboldt, with the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association, with the Saskatchewan City Mayor's Caucus, and other groups as well.
"Humboldt has a good reputation out there for many things. The community can take credit for that," he said.
Action Humboldt helped the city realize the importance of having a vision, and doing a strategic plan, Eaton added.
Looking at the 2009 vision statement which is still up on his wall, Eaton said, "we achieved all that back in 2008. We need to begin working on a new vision, and we have been developing a new vision."
They're calling it, Humboldt 2020 vision.
"We have a strategic plan. We're trying to reform that vision statement," he said. "We are really trying to look ahead at what is our community really going to be like in 2020?"
The new BHP mine that is proposed for the LeRoy-Jansen area and other potash mines are being taken into consideration, as well as other thriving industries locally, including manufacturing and agriculture.
Could there be another role in the future for Action Humboldt?
That was a question asked to the participants in the interviews.
What Clifford heard was that Action Humboldt's role could shift from focusing on businesses to welcoming newcomers, and making this region a place where immigrants are received with warmth and want to stay.
Bankowski said they have to find "another relevant way.... to help foster that kind of culture and attitude with new residents, so the city can continue with its trademark 'can-do' attitude."
